Tablet computing devices, such as the Apple® iPad™, Blackberry® PlayBook™, Samsung® Galaxy Tab™, Acer® Iconia™, Google® Nexus Tablet™, HP® TouchPad™, HP® Slate Tablet™, etc, have gained enormous popularity among consumers. These tablet devices allow for new ways of interacting with the users using their touch-sensitive displays. As a result, many applications (e.g., game applications) that allow users and/or objects (e.g., toys) to interact with the display of the tablet device have been developed. In addition, electronic toys have been made to integrate the toys with the display activities of the devices (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,773,344B1, 7,397,464B1, US20060223637A1, US20080081694A1, US20100268359A1, or US2011/0304651). In even more sophisticated efforts, toy objects can be used as input devices to drive display activity as seen in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEUNGyHbW4, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDi_TsDAQC8, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72xvyt Ag_UM, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJavxo4bSh4. Another example of such toys is seen on http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/27/disney-appmates-cars-toys-mean-parents-may-never-see-their-ipa/. This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While such attempts are fairly entertaining, significant processing power and specialized equipment is typically required, resulting in expensive devices. Moreover, the general population will not be able to add to these highly engineered toys. Thus, there is still a need for improved electronic entertainment devices, and especially low-cost toys for which playing platforms can be readily built.